Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord
"Give ear unto my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God: for unto Thee will I pray. My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and look up" (Psalms 5:1-3).
"As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening and morning, and at noon will I pray and cry aloud: and He shall hear my voice. . . Cast thy burden upon the LORD and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Psalms 55:16-17, 22).
When we talk to God, He is our Father, so we are His children. How do you think your parents would feel if you never talked to them, or, if you did, you only asked them for something? I know my parents would feel pretty bad, and so does God. He loves us so much that when we don't talk to Him we hurt Him excruciatingly. Some people see no reason to pray; they say it just does no good.
God deals with us as a parent deals with their child. If we are constantly rebellious, and never speak to Him, He will not always give us what we want, although we always get what we need. A lot of times, the only reason that the rebellious child of God has any prayers answered is because another child of God, who is obedient, is praying for them.
That leads to something else. Pray for each other! If you can, get on your knees and pray for everyone and everything! In all your praying, do not forget to thank God for all His goodness! Pray to thank Him for your health, and be specific. He knows your heart's desires and emotions, but He wants to hear it from you!
After we moved from Kentucky to Oklahoma in 1992, I had no friends at all for two years! You better believe I prayed for a friend every day. I don't mean a "popcorn prayer" of, "Oh, Lord, I want a friend" -- I prayed hard! I fell on my face and burst into tears because I wanted someone, anyone to be my friend. I wanted results then, but God said, "Wait." It was two years before I met her, and we were friends from the start. At times it seemed that I would never have a friend again, but now I have several good friends all over the world, besides some here! Prayer works!
There are three answers God gives us, as I'm sure you all have heard, "Yes, No, and Wait." When someone writes to be a penpal, I pray. Sometimes the answer is "No," and I really want to write them. God never changes His mind, so I have to say no and He gives me peace. Sometimes He says "Yes" and I do write and they prove to be the sweetest people I know!
Prayer is so important! I could never say enough on how God has blessed our family with things we needed, like a lot of frozen corn from a neighbor, or a load of clothes, or propane, etc. All I can say is this: "Pray without ceasing!" God hears you and wants to give you what you need!
~By Tracy Begley; from HW, Vol. 23
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